Electrolyte drinks for stressed cows

While there are no plans to stage cow races, electrolyte sports drinks appear
to benefit the animals by reducing suffering during long sea journeys, according
to a publication in New Scientist magazine.

Australia exports over 4 million cattle and sheep a year, mainly to the
Middle East, but animal welfare concerns have prompted calls to ban the
practice. Temperatures can soar to over 40 °C with 80% humidity as ships pass
through the tropics, causing the animals to become severely stressed, suffer
respiratory distress, lose weight and even die.

Effect of electrolyte
supplementsNow a study aboard a ship bound for the Middle East has found
that adding measured amounts of sodium bicarbonate and potassium chloride to
water increased the weight of 39 steers by 3% compared to 40 steers that drank
plain water (Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, vol 47, p
119). Electrolyte supplements have been used before
during livestock transport, but without evidence that they work or any guidance
on how much to give. "The ship's captain says, 'Let's give them electrolyte,'
and the stockmen go around shoving handfuls of white powder into the troughs,"
says team leader David Beatty of Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia.

His team's
controlled trial showed that animals that received the supplement drank more,
and kept a normal body pH, which can be disrupted by heat
stress.